Multiculturalism and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Abstract

Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states: ‘This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians’, and we know surprisingly little about why the Canadian Federal Government agreed to insert it in the Charter and how this occurred. In this article I will use new historical evidence to explain both these things and I proceed in three stages. Firstly, I explain why the Canadian Federal Government agreed to include what became Section 27 in the Canadian Charter. Secondly, I explain how it was actually included. I then conclude the article by explaining why the evidence in it not only explains why and how Section 27 was included in the Charter; it also increases the possibility that a largely unsubstantiated claim made by certain prominent scholars is true. The claim is that the Canadian Federal Government's policy of multiculturalism was used to shape the Canadian national identity.

The emergence of the Bristol School of Multiculturalism

“…2 It is striking just how many of the political theorists who Levey (2019a, pp.204-205) lists call themselves liberals. 3 A critic might ask why Uberoi (2008;2009) initially wrote about Canadian multiculturalism, if he was focused on Britain. The answer is that those early pieces were part of an attempt to see what Britain can learn from Canada about promoting national identity (Uberoi, 2007).…”

“…This is because, unlike an earlier and illustrious generation of scholars of immigrant descent in Britain such as Isaiah Berlin and John Plamenatz, BSM scholars wanted not only to contribute to knowledge, but also to influence long-term political thought about political problems in Britain that relate to cultural minorities. 3 In comparison, the works of LMs were initially influenced by political practices in countries such as Canada (See also Patten, 2014, p.viii). Hence, Kymlicka (1999, pp.133-134; 2016a, p.67) states that he 'grew up with the assumption that justice required some sort of special status for Quebec and Aboriginal peoples', and initially disagreed with Charles Taylor that 'only communitarianism could defend special rights for groups like the Québécois or native Indians', as he thought liberals could too.…”

The ‘Parekh Report’ – National identities without nations and nationalism

“…used to foster national pride in multiculturalism which I agree with (Uberoi, 2007(Uberoi, , 2008(Uberoi, , 2009 but again this differs to claiming policies of multiculturalism can be nationbuilding policies. 5.…”

Comparative and transnational perspectives on the introduction of multiculturalism in post-war Sweden

“…The group that most actively voiced its disapproval was the Ukrainian-Canadian minority group. 36 Approximately 2.6% of the Canadian population was of Ukrainian descent and substantial parts of the group were politically motivated to retain Ukrainian culture in Canada due to the Soviet occupation of their homeland. 37 In 1964 the UkrainianCanadian senator Paul Yuzyk introduced the word 'multiculturalism' and employed it to criticize the ideal of bilingualism and biculturalism and call for greater recognition of the other ethnic groups in Canada.…”